


Night Terrors

by raspberry_beret



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Nightmares, One Shot, Slow Romance, nightterrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 11:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7617109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberry_beret/pseuds/raspberry_beret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky isn't the only one who suffers nightmares and he likes that for once his able to help one of his fellow Avengers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Terrors

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't super angsty so you shouldn't feel horrible after reading :) Happy ending yay!

The piercing sound of terrified screaming tore through the silence that cloaked the Avengers facility while its occupants enjoyed some well-earned rest. Steve jolted awake at the sound, jerking upright immediately at the shrill noise. _Bucky_ , he thought as he disentangled his legs from the sheets, brain not quite fully operational. He stepped out onto the landing that lead to the other rooms, ears ringing from the sudden lack of noise. In the quiet his super solider senses could hear a few others struggling from bed. 

Three adrenalin-quickened heartbeats later the screaming started again and Steve took a few steps towards Bucky’s room, until he realised the sounds weren’t coming from the former Winter Soldier’s quarters but from the direction of the new recruit’s room further down the hallway. As soon as Steve realised this, Bucky’s door wrenched open and he emerged in black boxers and grey t-shirt, hair mussed with sleep. 

“Now I know what you guys go through,” Bucky said, the husk of sleep almost hiding the humour in his voice. 

“Go back to bed, Buck, I’ve got this,” Steve replied. 

“Actually, I think I’m probably the better qualified one for this particular problem.” A quick glance into Bucky’s eyes showed Steve his friend’s determination and understanding. 

“I don’t know Buck, she hardly knows you,” Steve said, rubbing his face with his hand as he thought. “Maybe… Maybe it shouldn’t be a guy. Maybe Nat should be the one to go to her.” 

“Everything okay fellas?” On queue Natasha’s voice came from her own doorway where she stood, leaning against the doorframe. 

“It’s fine, Romanoff,” Bucky responded, eyeing the weapon she was discreetly holding in her hand. He still struggled to trust her and suspected the feeling was mutual. Looking back to Steve, Bucky echoed his friend’s words: “I’ve got this.” 

Without leaving room for further debate, Bucky strode to the new recruit’s room, quietly opening the door and slipping inside. Hesitating a moment to allow his eyes to adjust, Bucky heard a low moan followed by a woman’s voice pleading: “Please. Please don’t kill me. I don’t want to die.” The sound sent a rush of ice down his spine and he understood precisely what you must be feeling in this moment, having experienced it himself endless times before. 

As Bucky made his way into your bedroom, he could see your form curled up under the covers, thrashing and trembling as you wailed in fear. He stepped forward silently and paused once more, thinking perhaps Steve had been right and having a man looming in the darkness was not quite the right thing you needed. As if sensing his presence, you suddenly sat bolt upright in bed; your eyes were wide open with fear and seeing Bucky you screamed, scuttling backwards along the bed until you fell off the side with a loud thud.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just me, Bucky,” Bucky said and dashed around to the other side of the bed, switching on a lamp as he reached you. You were panting, desperately trying to catch your breath while your heart hammered so hard in your chest that you couldn’t move. 

“Bucky?” You managed finally, after a few shuddering gasps. “Wh-what’s going on? Why are you in my room? You scared the hell out of me.” 

“You were having a nightmare, love. A whopper, by the sounds of things.” Bucky tried his luck with a little bit of humour, knowing how smothering concern could become. 

“Oh God, I didn’t. Please tell me I didn’t,” you said as tears started to form unwanted in your eyes. You lifted trembling hands to cover your face, too ashamed to let Bucky see you lose control. 

“Shh, it’s okay, it was just a dream.” Bucky kneeled down beside you, reaching out to rub your back soothingly. 

“Everyone must think I’m a freak,” you said, each word strangled between sobs. 

“Not at all, doll,” Bucky replied and without warning scooped you into his arms and gently carried you back to bed. “You’re now living with a super soldier, an AI mystical being, a girl who can move stuff with her mind, a Russian spy and a formerly brainwashed HYDRA assassin – just to name a few. I don’t think anyone here would call you a freak.” 

His response made you huff a small laugh, which gave you a chance to get your tears under control. You hated letting anybody see you cry. Your sinuses were aching with congestion and your throat still felt tight as if an invisible hand was constricting around it. 

“Thanks, Bucky.” 

“Would you like me to stay for a bit?” 

At first you paused, part of you wanted to be left alone, to try and fall asleep again as soon as possible. But you had only been at the facility for a fortnight and this was a chance to get to know Bucky; you had only shared perhaps a dozen words between you before tonight. 

“That would be nice, actually.” 

You patted the empty side of the bed before wrapping your arms around your knees and hugging them tightly to your chest. Bucky sat down, the mattress dipping under his weight, coming to rest with his head against the headboard and one leg tucked under the other. You both enjoyed the comfortable quiet that comes from being in another person’s presence in the deepest part of the night. You listened to his soft breaths and contemplated what little you knew so far about him. James “Buchanan” Barnes, formerly the Winter Soldier, had only been with the Avengers a few months longer than you. Steve had filled you in a little bit on what had happened after the Accords, but he had kept things brief and top-line. That there had been a fracturing for a while, but things were on the mend, that Bucky had been released from his HYDRA-imposed brainwashing, that things were still tense with Tony but he hadn’t really explained why. 

You had started to drift into a fuggy daze when Bucky spoke softly. “Did you want to talk about it?” 

You turned to look at him and studied his face as you thought _Can I trust him?_ The bedside lamp behind him threw shadows that darkened his stubble-lined jaw and turned his bright blue eyes into a stormy grey. There was a gentle honesty in those eyes that weakened your resolve. 

“You’ll probably laugh.” You replied. 

“I won’t, I promise.” 

“I know fucked up shit has happened to you. Fucked up shit has happened to me, too. Probably more than enough to give someone nightmares. The truth is, I’ve always had them – at least as long as I can remember. When I was about 13 or 14 my mum had to rescue me from my wardrobe, where I had gotten stuck trying to run away from something.”You paused and glanced again at Bucky, who shot you a half-grin and nodded his head for you to continue.“But then the bad stuff started to happen. Has Steve told you how I got recruited?” 

“No, he tends to let people tell their own stories.” 

You leaned back against the headboard and closed your eyes. “My family… I lost my family. Turned out I didn’t know my mother as well as I thought I did and her secret life got her, my father and my brother killed. Her… _employer_ s _…_ say she had tried to run, to get out of the deal she had signed. So they kept me. At first it seemed like only as second-hand punishment, as a way to get to do the things they had wanted to do to her before she went and died too quickly. But after a while they came ‘round and thought I would make a good agent myself. They made me do things I never wanted to do, but I had switched off by that point. I wasn’t me anymore, y’know? Yeah, of course you do.” 

At this point you realised Bucky was holding your hand, rubbing a callused thumb over your scarred knuckles. It was one of the most soothing sensations you had ever experienced. 

“Eventually, my soul or maybe it was my sanity, started to return and I killed every last one of those assholes. It took me two years of being my own double-agent, picking them off one by one, and they never suspected it was me until their last breath. My handiwork caught Steve’s eye and he started tracking me. One day he got between me and the last dickhead, so we had a bit of a tussle. After knocking the stuffing out of me, Steve reached down and lifted me to my feet and said: “You’ve got heart kid.” And here I am.” 

At this Bucky let out a small chuckle. “God he can be so self-righteously annoying.” 

“I know right?! Anyway. My theory is that the nightmares were premonitions of what was to come. My subconscious knew what was to come and was already screaming.” To your embarrassment your voice husked at the end of the sentence and a tear made a salty trail down your cheek. Bucky enveloped you into an enormous bear-hug, the first you’d had in God knows how long, and petted your hair as you cried quietly. He smelled of warmth, a comforting mixture of sweat and washing detergent and the softest tang of metal. By focusing on those smells and steadying your breathing you were able to get your tears back under control, but you weren’t ready to give up the reassuring sensation of Bucky’s embrace just yet. 

“Sometimes I think mine are punishment. For what I did. For not fighting harder, for being weak, for not dying when I should’ve,” Bucky said quietly. “I’ve never even told Steve that, but I think he suspects it.” 

You didn’t know what to say. What was there to say? You knew how pointless _I’m sorry_ or _That’s not true_ were, how hollow they sounded. So you just went with a simple, “You can trust me,” and hugged him tighter and tried to squeeze some of the pain away. 

Despite the awkward angle of being positioned half up-right, half in Bucky’s lap, exhaustion started to take over and you felt yourself starting to drift to sleep. Bucky noticed as well and gently disentangled himself from your arms. 

“I better let you get some rest. I guarantee you Steve is still awake and becoming increasingly worried you’ve murdered me in your sleep.” You smiled at his joke, a weak attempt to keep things from becoming awkward. Surprisingly, you didn’t feel embarrassed or awkward, but more relaxed than you had felt in years. 

“Thanks Bucky,” you said as he opened the door to your room. He turned back to match your grin. 

“Anytime, doll.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave feedback :)


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